Wallflower
by ribbonreverse
Summary: "In this container is fifty thousand gold's worth of medical supplies. Don't ask where we got it. All you need to know is where it's going." The crew of the Wallflower run a pretty simple operation: a flower-shipping business with a side of smuggling. This job for the anti-Empire rebels should be run-of-the-mill, but when a new passenger boards with problematic baggage... (AU)
1. Mayflower

**I. Mayflower  
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* * *

><p><strong>101.<strong>

The port of the Forget-Me-Not Colony is bustling with life. Ships dart across a sky crowded with clouds and rimmed with whitish smog, taking off, touching down, anchoring to solid metal docks and loading up goods. An ocean of people flows across the concrete walkways. They are speed-walking in currents, waves breaking on the edges of steel-skeleton buildings and jostling elbows with apologies and pardon-me's and the occasional watch-where-you're-going. A few are multicolored, dressed brightly to counteract the dull welded-together monochrome of the city around them. Most are wearing gray to blend in.

Some are wearing Empire uniforms and the faces of soldiers.

It is November of 2906, and war has been blazing for nearly three years.

A man slips into an alleyway, two companions trailing behind him. He stops and glances up at a sturdy but ancient-looking wooden sign. The name "Blue Bar" is emblazoned across the front, and soft jazz music and laughter drift through the amber-lit windows and open, inviting door.

"So, this is the place, Cam?" the one on the left asks, tugging at the ragged edges of his red-striped hat. A pale woman with black hair in braids trails behind, surveying the bar and its inhabitants with silent curiosity.

"That's what Rio said." Cam straightens his jacket and steps across the threshold. "Though it's a bit cheery to be-"

"A bit cheery to be what?" A blonde waitress in a bright red dress approaches the group, stilettos clicking against the wood-paneled floor. She cuts Cam off with a smile. "Welcome to the Blue Bar. Can I get you all anything to drink?"

"We're here for business, ma'am," Cam says in a low voice, leveling his gaze at her. "I assume you're Muffy?"

"Oh." All traces of bubbly lightness drop from her voice. She surveys them attentively, drawing her well-shaped brows together and crossing her arms. The next sentence comes out as a drawl, running together into one word, in the way common phrases do when you've said them too many times before. "You know, I rather like mermaids."

"I rather like griffins better," Cam replies, carefully enunciating each syllable.

The woman relaxes, nods, and motions to the grizzled man behind the bar, who waves his hand.

"Right, then. Let's go to a place with more... Comfortable arrangements."

She saunters behind the counter and glances over her shoulder to make sure they're following.

"And don't call me ma'am," she adds, a bit sourly. "It makes me feel old."

* * *

><p><strong>102.<strong>

Amethyst eyes skim the horizon, squinting to make out the names of the ships. Nothing is fitting, nothing at all, and Sanjay needs to get himself and his cargo as far away from Empire-held territory as possible, as _quickly_ as possible. Preferably to Zephyr, but beggars can't be choosers.

_Beggars!_ He almost laughs at the irony. A couple of beggars wouldn't be in this kind of mess in the first place. Not that he'd go back to that life. He's privileged, he's incredibly lucky, and he knows it. He wouldn't trade what he has now for anything, even given the current situation, but sometimes, there's a thought flickering around the edges of his brain that things would have been so much easier if he'd never-

"Oi! You there!"

He flinches and whips his head towards the source of the voice, heart in his throat and guilt on his face. He catches sight of an Empire uniform and freezes, blood pounding in his ears, and they've found him, they've found him and he wants to sprint away and lose himself in the crowd but he can't, not without risking the mission, and it's too late to run-

The soldier approaches. Quickly.

Sanjay takes a breath, straightens, and puts on his best poker face because there has to be a diplomatic way out of this, there _has_ to be, for Amir's sake-

The soldier rushes past him and makes a beeline for a ramen stand on the corner.

He collapses against the wall and breathes a sigh of relief.

_Safe. We are safe, we are safe, we are safe._

* * *

><p><strong>103.<strong>

In the dark back hallways of the Blue Bar, Muffy leads the three travelers to a storage room. It's poorly lit, with a concrete floor and hard metal chairs. Ash immediately collapses into one of them, a gangly sprawl of elbows and legs. Reina hesitantly sits to his right, perching on the edge of the chair, and folds her hands carefully on her knees. Cam stays standing. Shipping boxes cover the back walls, and it's decidedly a lot less comfortable than the bar they've just left.

The door slams closed behind them and locks with a solid click.

"So, let's get to business, then. Who sent you?"

"Rio." The woman wrinkles her button nose in confusion, so Cam elaborates. "Long blonde hair? Blue eyes?"

"Ah! So that's what she's going by now," Muffy sighs. "I do wish she'd pick something prettier. Back when I knew her, she was Claire. Such a nice name..."

"She's our ship's mechanic," Ash volunteers.

"Ugh!" The woman visibly cringes. "So messy! Although she did always have a penchant for building stuff, so I'm not surprised. To each their own, I suppose..."

"In any case," she continues, approaching the boxes, "it's good that you all got here when you did."

Cam raises his eyebrows. "Then you've got a shipment for us to make?"

The woman nods and raps her knuckles against one of the steel crates.

"In this container," she says, turning to Cam, "is fifty thousand gold's worth of medical supplies. Don't ask where we got it. All you need to know is where it's going, which is..."

"Zephyr?" His face is carefully stable, unreadable.

"You've got it!" she chimes, winking. "The rebel forces there are in pretty bad need of the stuff, if the papers are anything to go by, but since the Empire put up that blockade back in '04, we haven't been able to ship so much as an empty wine bottle out of here."

"Not legally, at least."

"Eh. Depends on your definition of legal," she says, pursing her lips. "As far as I'm concerned, the Empire's lost their right to dictate what we do."

"You're telling me!" Ash replies, leaning back. The metal chair creaks under his weight.

"In any case," Muffy continues, gesturing to the shipping boxes once again. "Just sending the supplies is no good. Even if they're hidden, it's too suspicious-looking. Nobody's gonna pay for just an empty ship to go places, you know?"

"I see." Cam taps at his chin. "But if you were to have, say, a ship that carries flowers to sell..."

"Which is where you all come in." The woman surveys them, a warm smile on her face. "So, my fellow rebels? What's it going to be? What do you all say to a bit of smuggling?"

"I'm all for it!" A half-grin is plastered on Ash's face.

Reina simply nods, and that's all the confirmation Cam needs.

"Leave it to us," he says, straightening his tie. "We'll deliver the medicine."

* * *

><p><strong>104.<strong>

A girl with long golden hair and blue overalls is leaning against a wall by the ramen stand, happily slurping up noodles. It's been eons since she's had good food. Protein bars are nice and all, but after nearly three weeks off-planet with only basic provisions, she's glad to finally get something with a bit of flavor to it.

The little freeze-dried carrots almost taste fresh. _Glorious._

She sighs, blissfully unaware of the two angry uniform-clad men barreling towards her.

"Rachel Winters!" shouts the one on the right. "By the authority of the Unified Old-Earth Empire, I hereby place you under arrest!"

The woman tenses, but she doesn't actually look up until he grabs her arm roughly. The bowl she's holding slips from her hands and crashes to the ground, ramen sploshing everywhere.

_What a waste_, she thinks, tugging at her arm. He doesn't let go. _This is exactly why I hate Empire soldiers. No respect for personal space._

_Just like the Empire itself, actually._

She kind of wants to say that last part out loud, just to make them mad, but there are limits, and although the soldiers aren't much of a threat, there's still the potential for a scene. Cam has strictly forbidden any more _scenes_ this month, and besides, it would make the whole leaving-port thing a tad more rushed than it really needs to be.

In any case, she's Claire today, and she can't have crimes getting attached to that alias.

So, instead of tossing out a witty one-liner, she huffs and mutters, "You're payin' for that ramen, ya know."

"Is that a threat?" The soldier gripping her arm is livid. She mentally christens him Grumpy.

"Nope," she replies, her voice solid ice. "Remind me of whatcha needed again?"

Grumpy sputters. "Yo- You're under arrest!"

The side of her mouth quirks upwards. "I thought ya said Rachel was under arrest."

"Yes," the one on the left says, producing a badge. "You, Rachel Winters, are under immediate arrest by the authority of the Empire..."

_No wonder he's quiet_, Rio thinks, wincing. _His voice cracks more than my last manicure._

He continues, and she's got to hand it to him. As unpolished as he sounds, his memory is, apparently, impeccable. "-fifteen counts of smuggling, eighteen counts of assault on Empire military officers, three counts of murder, and fifty-seven counts of destruction of Empire property."

"Huh." The girl's grin is full-blown this time, spreading across her face like sunshine. "Bit of a shame for her, then."

The left soldier's eyes widen, Grumpy's mouth literally drops open, and boy, is she glad she decided to go with her Claire alias today. The soldier's grip on her arm goes slack while he pulls his jaw off of the concrete sidewalk, and the blonde carefully extracts her arm before continuing.

"Seein' as my name ain't Rachel, I think it'd be pretty illegal of you to arrest me, hm?"

"Fine. Documents?" Grumpy holds out a hand expectantly.

She rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically, making a big show of digging through her messenger bag for the papers. They're in the right front pocket, like always, but she pokes around in some of the other parts first to make him impatient, because the guy's being a jerk and if he's not going to buy her a new bowl of ramen, the least he can do is provide entertainment. Finally, after stalling for long enough to cause mild irritation, she flicks open the right pocket and slides her fingers in. Pulls them out, then pries the pocket as far open as it will go and stares at the nothingness inside.

Empty. It's empty! Her passport is back on the ship!

Rio shifts her stance and balls her fist. "You boys might wanna head on out, now."

The one on the left reaches for the gun at his waist, and she sighs.

_Oh, and I had _so_ hoped to keep Claire's record clean._

She twists back, aims for his nose, and throws a punch.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A.N.<strong> This is my first fic in a while. Quite a long while, to be honest. How long has it been? Six years or so? In any case, hello! This is a sci-fi Harvest Moon AU. (The premise does have some light parallels to Firefly, as the setting is Firefly-inspired, but it is not based in that universe.) I've rated it T for safety and target-audience purposes, rather than because of the age-appropriateness of the content. With regards to disclaimers: I don't claim to have any ownership over the characters, settings, etc. represented in this work, and if the owners of said materials wish me to remove it from this site, they need only contact me and I'll behave accordingly._

_That said, I'm really looking forward to writing this, and I hope you all enjoy it!_

_(As a side note, I'm choosing the flowers for each chapter title based on their meanings... Mayflower is supposed to mean budding or some sort of new beginning, according to my sources, and I figured it fit considering how this is the beginning of the story.)_


	2. Peach Blossom

**II. Peach Blossom  
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><p><strong>201.<strong>

Cam is just leaving the Blue Bar, Ash and Reina trailing behind him, when his radio crackles to life. Rio's voice pushes up through between the ambient noise and bursts of static.

"This is R to team," she says with a grunt. "R to team, do you copy?"

He tears the clip off his belt and mashes the button on the side of the receiver. "This is team leader, we copy. Problem?"

"Just a bitty one, Cap'n, just a-"

The connection cuts out for a minute before she returns. Somebody is yelling in the background, and there's a loud crashing noise.

"Hang on a mom-"

Another voice cuts through the static, low and difficult to hear, but still clear.

"By the power of the Old-Earth Empire and the government thereof, I order you to freeze! Hands in the air, now!"

* * *

><p><strong>202.<strong>

Rio drops the receiver and it hits the ground with a sickening crack, and out of the corner of her eye, she sees the casing split open and spill tech components and broken shards of plastic across the concrete sidewalk. She winces. The thing's totally busted, and Cam's going to murder her later for it, but right now she's got bigger fish to fry.

And as far as fish go, the platoon of soldiers advancing towards her, guns drawn and safety off, is a very, _very_ big fish.

"Ain't no need to get upset, now," she says, raising her hands in what she hopes is a calming gesture. Bruises are already spreading across the knuckles, because she hadn't come prepared for a fight and Grumpy had possessed a much thicker skull than anticipated. She forces her face into a smile.

They don't smile back, which, considering that their comrades are currently sprawled unconscious at her feet, isn't really that much of a surprise.

"I know this looks bad! But this is all just a misunderstanding. See, I left my-"

The soldier in the front cuts her off. "Rachel Winters, you are under arrest."

"Like I keep tellin' y'all, my name ain't Rachel," she insists as innocently as she can. _Face them, make eye contact, don't look to the left, that's a tell, they'll know you're lying then. Even breathing, honest face. Look concerned._ "Please! My name is Claire. I'm a farmer on my way to Zephyr. I'm goin' out on the Wallflower- it's that lil' ship headin' out from Port 115, I'll show you if just you'd let me- I have all my papers, see, but I left my passport on the ship, these officers approached me, an' Grumpy here was yelling so I got scared-"

"I don't believe you."

"I'm just lookin' to get to Zephyr, sir!" she yells. "Please, I'll miss my ship! If you'd just let me-"

He cocks his gun, and she freezes. The concern on her face is real, now.

"One more word from you, missy," he says, "and you won't be going off-planet, or anywhere else, ever again. You understand?"

Rio nods, swallowing the rest of her defense and halfheartedly glancing at her demolished radio.

_I wonder if I get a phone call._ She tries to make herself grin, a real genuine grin, because good morale always helps when she's in a situation like this, but it's too hard to do with twenty or so guns trained on her. Besides, she kind of doubts that even Cam can get her out of this one.

* * *

><p><strong>203.<strong>

_Zephyr._

The name catches at the edge of Sanjay's ear, only just in his range of hearing, and he launches himself off of the wall, suddenly attentive to the scene unfolding on the street corner.

Has he heard right? The ship is setting sail for Zephyr?

The blonde woman repeats it once, and only once, before the soldiers silence her and slap metal cuffs on her wrists. She says the name of a ship, too, before they drag her away. Wallflower. It's somewhere in the hundred-teens ports, and leaving fairly soon, from the sound of it. He sets off in the direction of the docks, skimming the names plastered on the sides of the ships.

_Since this Wallflower vessel will have one less passenger to take, perhaps they might consider taking on another... And if they don't, perhaps they could be persuaded..._ He's glad for a half-moment that this blonde woman has been arrested, and a part of him recoils at that happiness and the idea that he's taking advantage of another's unfortunate situation to further his own needs.

But it's for Amir's sake. He will do it, regardless of the sick feeling settling in his gut.

* * *

><p><strong>204.<strong>

Back on the Wallflower, the metal halls are quieter than usual. Engines have been cut off for docking. Doc Alex is out shopping for food and medical supplies, Rio's probably stuffing her face with ramen by now, and Cam, Reina, and Ash are-

Well, they didn't really say where they were going. Not to her, at least.

Alisa leans back in her chair. Gets up, paces, returns and settles down again. They don't trust her with details, and after the incident back in Bluebell with Mikhail, she doesn't really blame them.

Something twists inside of her, because as wrong as it is, she misses him.

That's not the only reason, though. Cam and his crew are either smugglers or traders, depending on which set of laws you're going by, and the thing is, Alisa doesn't actually know which ones she should be following. Although she doesn't agree with everything the Empire's doing to the planetary colonies, they are an authority, and she feels she ought to honor and respect authority whenever possible.

The church itself is split on the issue, though, which certainly doesn't help. Some clergy are saying that the Empire's authority ought to be subject to the divine authority, and that the Empire has violated the rights given to the people by that higher authority. They claim that the church actually has an obligation to rebel. But the rebel forces aren't exactly saints, themselves... Alisa has gone over both arguments too many times to count; she's heard the debates, she's read the satellite-distributed digital pamphlets, and the problem is that she can see truth in both perspectives.

This latest mission is probably even worse than the usual, given how few details she's been supplied with, and she shudders.

_Why do I even bother?_ But somebody needs to make sure Cam and company follow some sort of moral and ethical code, and she's a priestess of the Bluebell Colony. If the spiritual safety and well-being of the villagers is anybody's responsibility, it's hers.

Besides, they'd needed a pilot. Badly.

The radio comm sparks to life, red light blinking up at her, and she slams the button with unnecessary force.

_Long-suffering is a virtue_, she reminds herself, taking a calming breath.

"This is team leader to home," Cam's voice says through the static. "Copy?"

"Yes, sir," Alisa replies. She glances at the display's time reading and frowns. "Are we clear for departure already? It's a bit early, over."

There's a hiss of a sigh. "There's been a bit of a hitch in the plan, home, over."

"What sort of hitch?"

"...Something's happened to R."

_Rio. Again._ Alisa squeezes her eyes shut, presses her lips together, and breathes deeply several times through her nose._ That woman is going to get us all killed someday, I just know it._

_I just hope that day isn't today._

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" Alisa asks, trying to keep her voice level.

"No idea. It sounded like Empire soldiers, but Muf-" The connection fizzled and cracked, and the rest of the sentence was lost. "-boxes."

"Sorry, sir, you were a bit fuzzy for a moment. What did you say?"

"Someone is going to be coming by to drop off some boxes. Ordinarily, Rio and Ash and I would move them into the cargo bay ourselves, but given the situation, our time's cut pretty close as it is. Have her stash them in the cargo bay for now, beneath the flowers. Do you copy?"

"Yes, sir," the nun replies, glancing towards the empty corridor behind her. Her voice sounds too loud in the silence of the ship. "Over."

* * *

><p><strong>205.<strong>

About an hour after Alisa shuts the radio off, someone comes to the ship.

"Hello." She tries to be friendly, because even if the man is probably a smuggler, he still deserves politeness. Alisa's almost sure Cam had said a woman was coming to drop off the goods, but with long, flowing white hair braided so prettily like that, it'd be an easy mistake to make from a distance. Albeit a very long distance... "I've been expecting you. Cam says to drop the shipping containers in the cargo bay."

A frown crosses the man's features, and she backtracks a bit.

"I'm sorry to make you load everything yourself," she continues, glancing to the side. An unsettled feeling pricks at the pit of her stomach. _Where are the goods?_ "I know it's not standard protocol, but our usual crew is dealing with a situation at the moment."

She trails off, and the man blinks a few times, processing, before clearing his throat.

"My apologies, miss," he says. "I believe you've mistaken me for somebody else."

Alisa raises her eyebrows. "Pardon?"

"I'm not looking to ship anything; I merely seek passage to Zephyr."

"So, you're not..." Not the person I was expecting. Alisa pales. _How does he know we're going to Zephyr...!?_ She stiffens and says the next words clearly, a bit louder than necessary. "I'm sorry, you must be confused. This is a shipping vessel, sir. We don't take passengers."

"Please!" His voice is desperate. "I can pay-"

"No!" Who is this guy? A spy? An Empire soldier? Her palms are sweating, and her heart is thumping like a rabbit in her chest. "No passengers. I'm sorry."

The man sighs and puts a hand to his temple. "May I please at least speak to the captain?"

"The captain's out," Alisa replies, folding her hands to keep from fidgeting. "He's with the rest of the crew attending to a... A situation."

"Hm..." The man pauses for a second, and suddenly his eyes light up in recognition. "This wouldn't happen to involve a young woman with long blonde hair, would it?"

The nun tenses. _Lie, or tell the truth...?_ Seconds pass and she's hesitated too long, he knows from her reaction that it's Rio, and is there any good way to get out of this?

"I know where she is," the man continues, his mouth a determined line. Alisa can feel the shock spreading across her face. "I can save her, but first, I must ask that you do something for me in return..."

* * *

><p><strong>206.<strong>

"Still no sign of blondie," Ash reports, emerging from yet another small shop. "Seriously, guys, why don't we just ask the police where she is?"

"The Empire police?" Reina replies dryly, raising her eyebrows. "Yes. A wonderful idea."

"We could wear disguises or something! I don't know!" He kicks a stray can and watches as it skitters across the sidewalk. "It's better than searching every inch of the city, don't you think?"

Cam shrugs. "Reina's right. We can't risk th-"

Cam's radio emits a burst of static, and he stops dead in his tracks.

"Home to leader! This is home to leader, do you copy?"

He's not sure who he'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been Alisa. He throws his companions a quizzical look as he detaches the device from his belt. Reina is unaffected as ever, and Ash merely shrugs and tugs at the brim of his hat.

"Yeah, uh, we copy. What is it, over?"

"There's a man here who says he can recover R. He wants to talk to you. Over."

Cam nearly drops the communicator. He's elated for about half a second before the strangeness of the situation hits him. _The man's appearance is convenient. Far, far too convenient._ He frowns and drops his voice, dropping his hand to his side. "I don't like the feel of it."

Ash frowns and crosses his arms. "Well, what else do you have? At this point, it's the best shot we've got at finding her, Cam."

He sighs and mashes the button on the side of the communicator. "Fine. What's the plan?"

"Everyone returns to the ship. You'll discuss the terms of her return, and you'll accompany him to the area where she's being kept."

"Terms of her return, hm?" Cam makes a disapproving noise at the back of his throat. "Sounds kind of like he's the one holding her for ransom. Maybe I should call the authorities."

Another voice breaks through the static, low and smooth. Calming. Refined. And far, far too polite. "Captain, is it? With all due respect, sir, the authorities are the ones holding her at the moment."

"Funny," Cam replies, a nervous knot twisting in his stomach. "Our engineer isn't likely to run into that particular sort of trouble. She's very careful to avoid ruffling feathers. Unless, of course, someone turned her in..."

"Are you implying-?" The voice starts before cutting off sharply. There's a sigh from the other end. "I understand your concern, sir, but believe me, I had nothing to do with her arrest. I was just a bystander."

Something about this still isn't sitting right. "If you want money, you know, you're out of luck. I'm just a merchant, and I'm not selling my ship."

"Of course not," the voice replies. "I only wish to accompany you to Zephyr."

"Excuse me?"

"I require passage on your ship. _Please_." There's a moment of crackly silence. "Believe me, Captain, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have a good reason."

Ash shrugs. "Let's do it. We've got nothing to lose at this point."

"No... We've got a lot to lose..." Reina says, frowning. "But the alternative is to leave Rio, which isn't much of an alternative at all, to be honest..."

Cam shakes his head. "Something's off about this, but..."

The communicator clicks. Alisa, again. "You guys still there, over?"

He presses the button and pauses for a few seconds before he replies. "Tell him we accept the terms, and that we'll return shortly."

* * *

><p><em><strong>A.N.<strong> Ah! A wild Alisa has appeared! And Doc Alex should make an appearance next chapter, if all goes well. The main focus is going to be on the ToTT/ANB cast, but the Doctor is a consistent enough character across the series that I feel it's ok to include him. There will also be cameos from other generations (see: Muffy and Griffin from last chapter) for the observant... On a side note, I'm planning on updating about once per week, I think, unless I get super busy with school stuff. Thank you for reading!  
><em>

_I realize Sanjay's not usually this forceful/manipulative, but he's got two very, very good motivations sitting in his luggage right now..._

_The definition for peach blossom is "I am your captive". Pretty literal, here, hm? Although I imagine the original meaning is in more of a metaphorical sense, hehe. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!  
><em>


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